Trailer.



W. B. MORSE. TRAILER.

APPLICATION FILED PEB.20.1912.

Patented Dec. 1, 191 1.

vibe we Hmwmmtmr 2 1E! (u/01w dUCwu I? a RING} B. MORSE, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

TRAIL.

intranet,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. l, 1914.

Application filed February 20, 1912. Serial N0. 678,969.

Toz'dll'whom it may concern;

, Be it known thatl, vVHITING B. Morse,

a citizen of the United States, and of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trailers,

resident of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to trailers, such as are employed in connection with inotortrucks or other vehicles, to carry loads of lu'mber'or other material which cannot conveniently be supported upon the body of the vehicle. I v I It-has heretofore been proposed, in connection with vehicles having either four or sixwheels, to employ pivoted axles for two pairs-of the wheels and to connect these axles by means of crossed rods, whereby the axles are caused to swing simultaneously in opposite directions to facilitate the steering of the vehicle. 1

The present invention relates to a construction by which this method of steering is adapted,.ina' simple. and efl'ective manner, to atrailer. which is employedin connection withya motor-truck, or'other vehicle having=a .platform'body, the present invention involving a novel construction and arrangement of the steering connections and of the connections between the trailer-body and the vehicle-body, whereby the trailer is made readily detachable from the vehicle-body, so that the trailer may be loaded and unloaded while so detached, thus enabling the use of the vehicle, if desired, in connection with a plurality of trailers.

The lnvention is particularly useful in connection with motor-trucks, such as are commonly used in the transportation of lumher and similar materials. Such a truck is usually provided with a body of the plat form-type, which projects to a substantial distance in the rear of the rear-wheels of the truck. This arrangement is adopted in order that the greater part of the load carried bythe vehicle may rest upon the rear Wheels, so as to secure sufficient traction for driving the vehicle, the power for this purpose being applied to the rear wheels.

Where a trailer is employed in connection with such a vehicle it is necessary that the trailer be so constructed and so connected with the vehicle-body that at least 50% of the load carried by the trailer shall be sup ported by the traction-wheels of the vehicle.

-ward portion of a frame It .is accordingly necessary to support the forward end of the trailer-body upon the truck-body at a point substantially in advance of the rear end of the latter. On the other hand, the rear end of the truck-body constitutes the most convenient point for the attachment of the crossed rods by which the trailer is steered, and this point is substantially in the rear, therefore, of the point at which the trailer-body is supported upon and pivotally connected with the body of the truck. In order to compensate for this relative position of the pivotal attachment and of the connecting points for the steeringrods, I do not attach the steering-rods t0 the rear axle of the trailer, in the manner in which these rods have been heretofore employed, but I attach them instead to the forn which is pivotally connected with the rear part of the trailerbody, and which is supported upon the springs and the rear axle of the trailer. In this manner the steeringrods are pivoted to the frame at a point substantially as far 1n advance of the axle of the trailer as their forward ends are pivoted in the rear of the point of support of the trailer-body upon the truck-body, while at the same time the steermg-rods occupy a substantially horizontal position, upon the level of the platformbody of the truck or the frame upon which it is immediately supported. By this arrangement I largely avoid the relative longitudinal movement of the trailer and the truck, which would otherwise be produced by the action of the steering-rod when the vehicle. changes its direction of movement. At the same time, however, the location of the trailer-body and of the steering-rods upon diderent horizontal planes from that in which the axle of the trailer lies, tends to produce a certain degree of relative longitudinal movement between. the trailer-body and the truck-body, in consequence of inequalities in the road-surface upon which the truck and the trailer move. To permit such relative movement to occur freely, I employ a pivotal connection between the trailer and the truck by which lateral movement of the forward end of the trailer is prevented or limited, while longitudinal movement is freely, permitted, and I further employ steering-rods which are sufliciently rigid to assume the entire duty of both pulli119 and ushing the trailer, according as NO the truck is movedforwardly or backwardly.

By the a trailer of simple and inexpensive construction, which may be readily attached to or detached from a truck of ordinary form and construction, and which moves freely and without severe strain upon any of its parts, under all conditions of use.

Figure 1 is a side-elevation of a motorvehicle provided with. a trailer, one wheel of the trailer being removed to discloseinore clearly the steering-mechanism; Fig. 2 '1s a plan-view showing the rear part of the vehicle and the running-gear of the trailer, the platform of-the trailer being removed; and Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic plan-view illustrating the steering-action of the trailer.

A trailer constructed'in accordance with the present invention is illustrated as connected with a motor-truck of ordinary construction. The platform 5 of the trailer is provided, near its forward end, with a crossbar 6, which is connected, by means of a ivot-pin 7, to the platform 8 of the vehicle. he rear portion of the trailer is supported by a pair of wheels 9, journaled upon an axle 10 which is connected, by springs 11 of ordinary form, with a frame 12. The

frame 12 is pivotally connected with the platform of the trailer bya familiar construction including fifth-wheels 13, so that the rear wheels, the axle, the springs and the frame 12 constitute a pivoted wheeltruck adapted to steer the trailer as well as to support it. The upper fifth-wheel is connected, by Crossbars 1 1, with the platform of the trailer. The steeringxnovements of the wheel-truck just described are-produced by means of two rods 15 and 16, which are connected, at their forward ends,-to hooks 17 fixed to the frame 18 of the vehicle on opposite sides thereof. The rear ends of the rods 15 and 16 are pivotally connected with eyes 19 on opposite sides of the frame 12 of the wheel-truck. a The rods are crossed, as shown particularly in Figs. 2 and 3, and

are separatedvertically enough to prevent interference between them when the trailer is tilted laterally with respect to the vehicle. Owing to the arrangement of'the rods 15 and 16, and particularly to the fact that they are crossed as above described, these members act, whenever the body ofthe vehicle is swung to an angular position with respect to the trailer, to swing the wheeltruck through a corresponding angle in the opposite direction. Fig. '3'illustratesi-this action when the front steering-wheels 20 of the vehicle are swung to the left so as to turn a corner, or follows. path curving to the left. The first result of this movement of the steering-wheels is to swing the body of the vehicle to the left. This produces an angular movement with respect to the foregoing arrangements I produce I 'of the axle l0 forwardly.

thus swings to an angular posltion with respect to the platform 5 op osite to the angular movement of the b0 y of the ,vehicle.

Accordingly, as the vehicle and the trailer move forwardly, the wheel-truck tends to swing the trailer toward "the curved path followed by the vehicle. As the trailer swings in this direction, however, the rods 15 and 16 return in a corresponding degree toward normal position, so that thewheeltruck gradually returns toward straightforward position. As a result of this automatic action the trailer follows'thevehicle at. an angle thereto, this angle being greateror less in inverse proportion to the radius of the curve followed by the vehicle, and being always less than the angle which the trailer would assume in theabsence of automatic rovision for steering it. 1

To acilitate the application of my improved trailer to a vehicle of ordinary construction without substantial changes in the frame of the vvehicle, I do not employ. the pivot 7 as-the means for ulling the trailer, or for pushing it in backing the vehicle, but employ instead, for this purpose,.the steering-rods 15 and 16, these rods being made sufficiently stiff and strong for this purpose.

Owing to this arrangement it is unnecessa to confine the pivot 7 closely against fore-an aft movement, since its only necessaryfunction is to prevent lateral movement ofthe forward end of the trailer with respect to the vehicle. Accordingly, the platform8 of the vehicle .is provided with a plate 21 which is slotted to receive the pivot, as shown in Fig. 2. This arrangement permits sufficient play tocompensate for all relative movements of the trailer and the vehicle which may result from phssage over irregular road-surfaces, curves and the like, the distance between the wheel-truck of the trailer and the :rear end of the vehicle being determined by the steering-rods, while the pivot slides freely'. backward and forward in the plate 21. The .ar-

rangement .just described, together with the I end so as to free the pivot 7 from the plate 21 and at the'same time to raise the forward ends of the steering-rods to free them from the hooks. This is a valuable feature of the arrangement since it permits several trailers to be used in connection with the vehicle, one or more of the trailers beingloaded, while another is beingdrawn from-place to place: vTo support the rods 15 and 16 when the=trailer is detached from the vehicles of a trailer comprising a platform-body rejecting, for a substantial distance, over t e rear-portion of the vehicle-bodyfa pair of wheels for supporting the rear-portlon of the trailer-body; an axle and springs connected with the wheels; a frame resting on the springs and having a swivel-connection with the body of the trailer; a pair of crossed rods pivoted to the frame near its sides and at'a substantial distance in front of the axle; means, at the rear extremity of the vehicle-body, for 'de-.

tachably securing the forward ends of the rods, the rods being sufliciently rigid to act as tension-members and compression-members, to pull or push the trailer as the vehicle with a vehicle having av moves forwardly or backwardly; and connections, between the forward end of the trailer-body and the vehicle-body, comprising a pin on one body and a socket on the other body, adapted to receive the pin loosely and elongated to permit longitudinal movement of the pin therein, said connections being located substantially in advance of the rear-extremity of the vehicle-body and serving to support the trailer-body and to,"prevent lateral movement of its forward end with respect to the vehicle-body, while permitting free longitudinal movement to compensate for inequalities in the road-surface and for the action of said rods.

WHITING B. MORSE.

Witnesses:

FARNUM F. DoRsEY, D. Gunman. 

